walking in verses (vs.) walking by

...situation 1 ::: walk by this shoe store and you'll probably have a prefabricated idea of the kinds of shoes it sells...

...situation 2 ::: walk in the shoe store, ask to try on a pair, walk/run/hop around in them...hmm, this pair feels good...

...then ask if u can try the shoes overnight (the clerk agrees)...so you walk/run/hop home happy, next day you go to work...you get a better sense of the shoes...they still feel good...you return the shoes...you try on another pair and take them home...

...you proceed to do this with every pair of shoes in the store (whew!)...

...ok,ok, so i know situation 2 is ridiculous, but lemme pose it to get to my point: which situation affords you a better understanding of the shoes in the store?...

...what you may think as ridiculous i've been thinking about for some time as it relates to memorizing scripture...while this ancient spiritual discipline is dreaded by so many of us, it's desperately needed by many of us...as someone who's been in the church for some time, i typically looked at a verse or chapter or a book of the bible (or even the whole bible) in the same way i would walk past a shoe store (situation 1)...i wanted to mature as a christian man, but i was operating with a prefabricated notion (or recollection) of what i "thought" the bible was saying...

...in other words, i was walking by the verses, versus walking in them...

...imagine that each pair of shoes, different in color, shape, style, etc., is a verse or chapter or book of the bible (choose the portion you'd like)...when you memorize a portion of scripture, you really walk in the verses as opposed to (or versus) walking by them...the ancient discipline of memorizing scripture forces you to wear and walk in the word at home, at school, at work, at leisure, in your relationships, whether you're alone and tempted by sin or whether you're surrounded by others and tempted to sin against them...

...a few years ago -- inspired by martin luther's statement in his commentary on the book of romans that every christian should memorize its 16 chapters -- i started memorizing scripture...at first, it was too difficult...i set the bar too high...but by God's grace and with more reasonable expectations and investments of time and effort, my walk with the Lord has been radically transformed by this ancient discipline...claire and i are big fans of memorizing scripture...walking in His verses versus walking by them has strengthened our faith, deepened our marriage, and framed our outlook in ministry...

...fittingly, then, this ancient spiritual discipline requires just that --- discipline...and a whole lot of patience, persistence, partnership, and purity....oh, and reasonable parameters and pace too...but let me tell you...it's way way do-able (think: every journey of a 1000 miles begins with 1 step, as the proverb goes)...just want it bad enough...and just do it...by balancing human grit with His grace, God can help us to see the bible with the same pricelessness and payout as david did in psalm 19: "more to be desired are they [the words of God] than gold, even much fine gold"...so many times i just pray to God that He would give me eyes to treasure his word this way and to walk in (not by) his word...

...no wonder the longest chapter in the bible (psalm 119: a sequenced ode to the virtues and value of the bible) starts with this clarion call of a beatitude: 'blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord'...following this beatitude come the praxis and payoff elements in verse 11, which says, 'i have stored up your word in my heart (scripture memorization), that i might not sin against you (spiritual purity)'...

...at the risk of posting this "preachy" piece, we want to sincerely encourage you -- dear family, friends, and readers -- to start (or continue) memorizing scripture...as we do so, we remind ourselves as well...like the others such as worship, prayer, fasting, solitude, etc., scripture memory is an ancient discipline that requires just that -- discipline -- but it is certainly do-able and spiritually dynamic...

::: memorizing scripture consistently will help you to walk in His verses versus walking quickly by His truth :::

::: excursus re phylacteries :::

...the ancient israelites were not oblivious to the practical challenges of remembering the words of God in their day-to-day routines...hence, phylacteries...

[image source: univ. of denver, penrose library web page @ library.du.edu/specoll/ Beck/tx174full.cfm]

...phylacteries, sometimes called “signs,” “reminders,” or “frontlets,” were small, leather, cube-shaped boxes often worn on the hand and forehead by Jewish males aged 13 and older...

...called tephillin in aramaic (a language extant with ancient hebrew), phylacteries contained parchments with the four sections of the Torah in which they are mentioned: "and you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand and for a remembrance between your eyes" (exod 13:9, and with slight variations in exod 13:16, deut 6:8 and 11:18). ...before and during the lifetime of jesus, tephillin often contained the ten commandments as well...

...head-tephillin were divided into four separate compartments, each of which hold a separate parchment...the oldest discovered head-tephillin was found at qumran (pictured below; image from oxford press)...

[image source: Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, vol. 1; oxford: clarion press, 1951, p. 7]

...arm-tephillin had no partitions...an arm-tephillin contained one parchment with all four passages on it...

[image source: univ. of denver, penrose library web page @ library.du.edu/specoll/ Beck/tx174full.cfm]

...imagine coiling the leather bands around your forearms and holding the box in your hand...

[image source: www.m-w.com via google]

...inside the box is the scroll containing the words of God, ready for your review...

[image source: univ. of denver, penrose library web page @ library.du.edu/specoll/ Beck/tx174full.cfm]

...while scholars debate whether the exod and deut texts that prescribed phylacteries were meant to be taken literally (since commands about binding in prov 6:20-21 and 7:1-3 are not literal), it is nonetheless apparent that the general purpose of phylacteries was this...

::: to remind the common israelite of the Lord God’s deliverance and his duty to be faithful to His commands :::

...for orthodox jews, the practice of wearing tephillin during morning and evening prayer continues to this day....

[image source: www.hanefesh.com via google]

::: further reading :::

Greenstone, J. H., Blau, L., and Hirsch, E. G. “Phylacteries.” In The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. X. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1901-1906. 21-28.

Christensen, D. L. Deuteronomy. Word Biblical Commentary 3. Waco: Word Books, 1991.

Durham, J. I. Exodus. Word Biblical Commentary 3. Waco: Word Books, 1987.

Ellison, H. L. “Phylacteries.” In The Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Vol. 3. Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 1980.

Fagen, R. S. “Phylacteries.” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 5. New York: Doubleday, 1992. 864-865 368-370.

Omanson, R. L. “Phylactery.” In the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1986.

Propp, W. Exodus 1-18: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. AB 2. New York: Doubleday, 1999.

Tigay, J. H. “On the Meaning of the Word ‘t(w)tpt’.” JBL 101 (1982) 321-31.

Yadin, Y. Tefillin from Qumran. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1969.